The former Newcastle striker made the comment following Everton’s 2-1 defeat to Premier League rivals Manchester United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at the Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday afternoon.

“I don’t think Everton have as good a squad as many commentators are making out,” Shearer wrote on Coral.co.uk. “They should though be performing better than 11th position so questions will be asked about the manager.”

Everton have some very good and talented players, such as John Stones, Romelu Lukaku, Gerard Deulofeu and Ross Barkley, and some well-experienced footballers, such as Gareth Barry and Seamus Coleman.

Then there are the likes of Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Aaron Lennon, but could Shearer be right?

The Toffees do not have a squad strong enough to challenge for a top-four finish in the Premier League, but there can be no denial that they have underperformed this season.

Manager Roberto Martinez should have at least been able to launch a quest for a top-six spot with the players that he has at his disposal at the moment, but there is a very good chance that the Merseyside outfit will end up outside the top 10.

Subhankar Mondal

A football journalist based in Wakefield, Subhankar Mondal has previously worked for Goal.com International and Skysports.com, and has had his sports articles published in The Guardian and The Observer. He has also been on the BBC in the past and his name once found its way to the pages of the World Soccer magazine. He was recently cited in a major Louis van Gaal biography.